RANKED TEAMS PLAYED/SCHEDULED

Analysis: The Irish and Wildcats share signature wins against Oklahoma, and both have one ranked opponent remaining. Notre Dame travels to No. 21 USC on Nov. 24; Kansas State hosts No. 18 Texas on Dec. 1. Alabama doesn’t have a ranked opponent left but could potentially face No. 5 Georgia in the SEC championship game. The Crimson Tide have faced four ranked teams; none ranked lower than No. 15. Oregon plays No. 14 Stanford and No. 15 Oregon State and potentially a ranked opponent in the Pac-12 championship. Those conference championships make a difference.

RECORD OF OPPONENTS PLAYED

Alabama: 57-43, .570

Notre Dame: 54-45, .546

Kansas State: 49-48, .505

Oregon: 48-54, .471

Analysis: The SEC trump card has value. Alabama played three consecutive ranked opponents and didn’t even have Georgia, No. 6 Florida or No. 9 South Carolina on the regular-season schedule. That’s why a potential matchup with the Bulldogs is huge. Notre Dame has wins against four ranked teams but has also played four teams with 5-5 records or worse. Still, the overall winning percentage of the Irish’s opponents, including upcoming opponents, is .555, best among this group. Kansas is the only conference team with a losing record Kansas State has faced. The best ranked team Oregon played is three-loss USC.

Advantage: Alabama and Notre Dame.

RECORD OF FUTURE OPPONENTS

Oregon: 15-4, .789

Kansas State: 12-7, .632

Notre Dame: 12-8, .600

Alabama: 3-17, .150

Analysis: This doesn’t factor in potential conference championship game opponents. Alabama faces Western Carolina and Auburn the next two weeks. Oregon by far has the toughest road remaining. Remember, you don’t want to lose this late. You want to be the team with the best chance to run the table.

Advantage: Alabama and Notre Dame.

POINT DIFFERENTIAL

Oregon: 548-223 (+325)

Alabama: 370-111 (+259)

Kansas State: 422-177 (+245)

Notre Dame: 261-111 (+150)

Analysis: This is why Oregon is the media darling. The computers no longer factor in margin of victory, but the human voters always will. Kansas State’s differential is impressive, but the Wildcats need to rout Baylor and Texas to erase any doubts about Alabama. This is the No. 1 argument against Notre Dame, and it has some merit.

Advantage: Alabama and Oregon.

FINAL ANALYSIS

The Crimson Tide will stay at the front of the one-loss parade. Given the advantages in schedule and point differential along with the SEC championship spotlight, there’s a chance—albeit a small one—a one-loss Alabama team could leap-frog an undefeated Kansas State or Notre Dame, especially if Oregon trips up. The Crimson Tide have a better chance of pulling that move on the Irish because of the point differential. Imagine the national reaction if that happens.

Bottom line: The SEC’s string of championships isn’t quite dead and buried yet; at least not until the BCS pairings are released Dec. 2.